ive been boarding out here in california (bear mtn; mammoth, etc) for a few years and feel im finally ready for new zealand in the summer. I could do websearches and use expedia and stuff....but i want to hear from anyone first hand - what is the best place to go for ur first time there? And cheapest? Are there hostils to stay at for like 5 dollars a nite? Im a huge pow rider and would love to check out the nz clubs they talk about..

I LOVE Queenstown and can't say enough good things about it.. It's a real tourist mecca though.. so that can be a bit overwhelming, I think you definately need to check it out though.

(Anyone correct me if I'm wrong I may be a bit biased) I think the South Island is far better in terms of skifields and there's more of them.

Hostels for $5.. I don't think so.. but you'd be looking at anywhere from $25 - $50NZ for cheap accomidation.. Or even I'd recommend hiring a campervan and just travelling around.. The south islands small enough to do that.. and if you're coming all that way you may as well see the whole country.

I LOVE Queenstown and can't say enough good things about it.. It's a real tourist mecca though.. so that can be a bit overwhelming, I think you definately need to check it out though.

(Anyone correct me if I'm wrong I may be a bit biased) I think the South Island is far better in terms of skifields and there's more of them.

Hostels for $5.. I don't think so.. but you'd be looking at anywhere from $25 - $50NZ for cheap accomidation.. Or even I'd recommend hiring a campervan and just travelling around.. The south islands small enough to do that.. and if you're coming all that way you may as well see the whole country.

thanks lamb! do you have any details? like the name of the cheaper accomodations and skifields ur talking about? it would be cool to travel the whole island .. def.. i want to start putting this together ... thx again! also not sure if this forum allows email to users? but feel free to email the info to me if its easier that way..

If the club fields are what you are after, go to the canterbury region, awesome. But be prepared to use a lift called a 'nutcracker' and to do your fair share of hiking. Some of the club fields have quite cheap accommedation on the mtn.

i did queenstown for a week last summer and it was awesome! originally planned to go boarding for only 3 days but ended up doing 5 in a row.

met a bunch of ppl in my hostel who was working there for the winter season while snowboarding at the same time although i was only there on vacation.

i had joined a tour while i was there that included lodging (hostels up to hotels.. depending on budget), lift ticket, rentals, and lessons. lots of tour places in town that also offer lift ticket/bus transfer up to the ski fields. gotta shop around for the best prices.

yeah I've started doing a bit of research for NZ. Planning to head over in August with about 8 mates. How dows ever1 get from Christchurch to Queenstown? Bus timetables are ridiculous and I don't wanna fork out for connecting flights. Did any1 hire a car/van?

yeah I've started doing a bit of research for NZ. Planning to head over in August with about 8 mates. How dows ever1 get from Christchurch to Queenstown? Bus timetables are ridiculous and I don't wanna fork out for connecting flights. Did any1 hire a car/van?

There's a crapload of bus companies that do the trip... so you'd be able to find one somewhere that isn't ridiculous..

But I'd recommend hiring a car.. coz it's a pretty awesome trip.. but if you aren't comfortable driving in icy/windy roads maybe not.. (Although my bfs brother from aus did it last year during winter and he'd never even seen snow up until then and he was fine..)
They went with this company Car Rental New Zealand | Jucy Bunch of Cars and they seem to be very popular..